Melissa Melissa joined the PEAL Center in September 2008 as the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) Coordinator after a 15 year career in public relations and marketing. She became dedicated to family advocacy work after her son was born with Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome and she helped develop a support network for parents dealing with the same genetic diagnosis. Through this support network she learned that many families were struggling to get adequate services for their children. Melissa emersed herself in advocacy training, attending as many parent trainings as she could because she felt strongly that to change the system, she needed to understand the system.
With the support of her family, she graduated from PEAL’s Parent Leadership Institute in May 2008 and then joined the Project for PEACE class. Through these sessions she realized her passion was to help other families and when the SPDG Coordinator position became available at PEAL, she knew it was time to turn that passion into reality.
Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree in communications, a paralegal certificate in general law and a master’s degree in business administration. She is dedicated to helping parents gain knowledge, leading them to find their voice for improving the system for those with extra needs.
She resides in Slippery Rock, PA with her husband, their son and a menagerie of pets.
